Eating utensil and a method of making the same

ABSTRACT

An eating utensil includes a food-holding portion and a handle. The handle includes a connection portion connected to the food-holding portion, a gripping portion opposite to the connection portion and distal to the food-holding portion, an upper surface formed on the connection and gripping portions, a lower surface formed on the connection and gripping portions oppositely of the upper surface, a slot formed in the connection portion and extending through the upper and lower surfaces, and a punched-out tongue portion connected to the connection portion and curvedly and downwardly extending away from the slot. The punched-out tongue portion has a free end.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority of Taiwanese Invention Patent Application No. 105119266, filed on Jun. 20, 2016.

FIELD

The disclosure relates to an eating utensil and a method of making the same, and more particularly to an eating utensil including a support structure used for preventing a food-holding portion of the eating utensil from being in contact with any undesired plane.

BACKGROUND

Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional eating utensil such as a spoon 1 is made of plastic materials, and includes a bowl portion 12 that is formed with a food-receiving space 120, and a handle 11 that extends from the bowl portion 12. The conventional spoon 1 further includes a support portion 111 that extends outwardly from the handle 11 and is opposite to the food-receiving space 120 of the bowl portion 12, such that the spoon 1 is positioned relative to a bowl 2 by abuttedly interposing a top edge 21 of the bowl 2 between the support portion 111 and the handle 11. However, the conventional plastic spoon 1 is likely to release toxic substances when used to handle hot food.

Referring to FIG. 2, another conventional spoon-shaped eating utensil 3 is proposed and is made from a metal material. The conventional metal utensil 3 includes a food-holding portion 32 characterized by a bowl-like shape and a handle 31 extending from the food-holding portion 32. The handle 31 includes a bent portion 312 connected to the food-holding portion 32, and a gripping portion 311 connected to the bent portion 312 and distal to the food-holding portion 32. When the gripping portion 311 and the underneath of the bent portion 312 are in contact with a top surface of a table, the food-holding portion 32 will hang slightly above and avoid contact with the top surface of the table for sanitary purposes. However, formation of the bent portion 312 requires additional metal materials, resulting in production cost increase.

SUMMARY

Therefore, an object of the disclosure is to provide an eating utensil that can alleviate at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art.

According to one aspect of the disclosure, an eating utensil includes a food-holding portion and a handle.

The food-holding portion has a top surface and a bottom surface opposite to the top surface.

The handle extends from the food-holding portion, and includes a connection portion that is connected to the food-holding portion, a gripping portion, an upper surface, a lower surface, a slot, and a punched-out tongue portion.

The gripping portion is opposite to the connection portion and distal to the food-holding portion.

The upper surface is formed on the connection portion and the gripping portion, and faces in the same direction as the top surface of the food-holding portion.

The lower surface is formed on the connection portion and the gripping portion oppositely of the upper surface.

The slot is formed in the connection portion and extends through the upper surface and the lower surface.

The punched-out tongue portion is connected to the connection portion within the slot, and curvedly and downwardly extends away from the slot. The punched-out tongue portion has a free end distal to the lower surface.

When the gripping portion and the free end of the punched-out portion are in contact with a plane, the food-receiving portion is spaced apart from the plane.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, a method of making an eating utensil includes: forging an eating utensil preformed product including a food-holding portion and a handle that has a connection portion connected to the food-holding portion, and a gripping portion opposite to the connection portion and distal to the food-holding portion; and punching the connection portion to form a slot and a punched-out tongue portion. The punched-out tongue portion is connected to the connection portion within the slot and has a free end extending away from the slot.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a conventional spoon;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of another conventional spoon;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of an eating utensil according to the disclosure;

FIGS. 4 to 6 are schematic views illustrating different operating conditions of the embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating another configuration of the embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view illustrating the other configuration of the embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a method of making an eating utensil according to the disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view illustrating consecutive steps of the method illustrated in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a method of making another eating utensil; and

FIG. 12 is a schematic view illustrating consecutive steps of the method illustrated in FIG. 11.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 3, an embodiment of an eating utensil according to the disclosure includes a food-holding portion 4 and a handle 5. The eating utensil may be made of a metal material.

The food-holding portion 4 has a top surface 41 and a bottom surface 42 that is opposite to the top surface 41. The handle 5 extends from the food-holding portion 4, and includes a connection portion 53, a gripping portion 54, an upper surface 51, a lower surface 52, a slot 55, and a punched-out tongue portion 56. In the embodiment, the food-holding portion 4 is exemplified to have a bowl-like shape so as to serve as a spoon.

The connection portion 53 is connected to the food-holding portion 4. The gripping portion 54 is opposite to the connection portion 53 and distal to the food-holding portion 4. The upper surface 51 is formed on the connection portion 53 and the gripping portion 54 and faces in the same direction as the top surface 41 of the food-holding portion 4. The lower surface 52 is formed on the connection portion 53 and the gripping portion 54 oppositely of the upper surface 51. The slot 55 is formed in the connection portion 53 and extends through the upper surface 51 and the lower surface 52. The punched-out tongue portion 56 is connected to the connection portion 53 within the slot 55, and curvedly extends downwardly away from the slot 55. The punched-out tongue portion 56 has a free end 561 distal to the lower surface 52. In one form, the punched-out tongue portion 56 and the slot 55 are formed simultaneously by using punching techniques to downwardly punch out a portion of the connection portion 53 and thus, the punched-out tongue portion 56 has a size corresponding to a void portion of the slot 55.

More specifically, the slot 55 has a first end 551 proximate to the food-holding portion 4, and a second end 552 opposite to the first end 551 and distal to the food-holding portion 4. The punched-out tongue portion 56 is connected to the connection portion 53 at the second end 552 of the slot 55.

Referring to FIG. 4, in the embodiment, the punched-out tongue portion 56 of the handle 5 has a rod-like shape. When the gripping portion 54 and the free end 561 of the punched-out tongue portion 56 are placed in contact with a plane 91, such as a top surface of a table, the food-holding portion 4 becomes spaced apart from the plane 91. Therefore, the eating utensil can be largely protected from being contaminated when placed on the table.

Referring to FIG. 5, another representation of the eating utensil is illustrated. When the eating utensil is not in use, the punched-out tongue portion 56 can serve as a hook so that the eating utensil can be hooked on a rope 92 to air-dry the eating utensil while keeping the food-holding portion 4 away from direct contact with other objects.

Referring to FIG. 6, when the eating utensil is in use, the eating utensil can be supported on a top edge 931 of a bowl 93 by receiving the top edge 931 in the groove formed between the connection portion 53 and the punched-out tongue portion 56.

Referring to FIG. 7, another configuration of the embodiment of the eating utensil according to the disclosure is illustrated. The food-holding portion 4 has a plurality of fork prongs 44 so as to serve as a fork.

Referring to FIG. 8, another configuration of the embodiment of the eating utensil according to the disclosure is illustrated. The free end 561 of the punched-out tongue portion 56 is bent backwardly to form a loop. Therefore, the punched-out tongue portion 56 has a rounded end to prevent a user from being accidently hurt.

Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, an embodiment of a method of making an eating utensil according to the disclosure is described. In step S01, an eating utensil preformed product 8 is forged to include a food-holding portion 4, which is exemplified to be bowl-shaped and a handle 5 that has a connection portion 53 connected to the food-holding portion 4 and a gripping portion 54 opposite to the connection portion 53 and distal to the food-holding portion 4. In step S02, the connection portion 53 is punched to forma slot 55 and a punched-out tongue portion 56 that is connected to the connection portion 53 within the slot 55 and that has a free end 561 extending away from the slot 55. More specifically, the punched-out tongue portion 56 is bent such that the punched-out tongue portion 56 extends curvedly away from the slot 55. Thus, the punched-out tongue portion 56 has a size equal to a void portion of the slot 55. Since the punched-out tongue portion 56 and the slot 55 are both formed in the eating utensil preformed product 8 without using additional metal materials, the production cost of the eating utensil can be reduced. Alternatively, the food-holding portion 4 may be formed with the fork prongs 44 instead of the bowl shape in the forging step.

Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, the method of making the eating utensil of the disclosure further includes backwardly bending the free end 561 of the punched-out tongue portion 56 to form the loop.

By virtue of the metal eating utensil, the eating utensil is nontoxic and can be safely used for hot items. In addition, the punched-out tongue portion 56 and the slot 55 are formed in the eating utensil preformed product 8 using the punching techniques without using any additional metal materials, thereby reducing the material cost of the eating utensil.

In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects.

While the disclosure has been described in connection with what are considered the exemplary embodiments, it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An eating utensil, comprising: a food-holding portion having a top surface and a bottom surface opposite to said top surface; and a handle extending from said food-holding portion, including a connection portion connected to said food-holding portion, a gripping portion opposite to said connection portion and distal to said food-holding portion, an upper surface formed on said connection portion and said gripping portion and facing in the same direction as said top surface of said food-holding portion, a lower surface formed on said connection portion and said gripping portion oppositely of said upper surface, a slot formed in said connection portion and extending through said upper surface and said lower surface, and a punched-out tongue portion connected to said connection portion within said slot and curvedly and downwardly extending away from said slot, said punched-out tongue portion having a free end distal to said lower surface, wherein, when said gripping portion and said free end of said punched-out tongue portion are in contact with a plane, said food-receiving portion is spaced apart from the plane.
 2. The eating utensil of claim 1, wherein said slot has a first end proximate to said food-holding portion, and a second end opposite to said first end and distal to said food-holding portion, said punched-out tongue portion connected to said connection portion at said second end of said slot.
 3. The eating utensil of claim 1, wherein said food-holding portion has a bowl-like shape.
 4. The eating utensil of claim 1, wherein said food-holding portion has a plurality of fork prongs.
 5. The eating utensil of claim 1, wherein said free end of said punched out tongue portion is bent backwardly to form a loop.
 6. The eating utensil of claim 1, wherein said punched out tongue portion of said handle has a rod-like shape.
 7. A method of making an eating utensil, comprising: forging an eating utensil preformed product including a food-holding portion and a handle that has a connection portion connected to the food-holding portion, and a gripping portion opposite to the connection portion and distal to the food-holding portion; and punching the connection portion to form a slot and a punched-out tongue portion, the punched-out tongue portion connected to the connection portion within the slot and having a free end extending away from the slot.
 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising bending the punched-out tongue portion such that the punched-out tongue portion extends curvedly away from the slot.
 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising backwardly bending the free end of the punched-out tongue portion to form a loop. 